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COME JOIN US ON THE BEACH...FINALLY!!!!
from our e-blast on April 23, 2022... It's
Tax Season down at Ye Olde Beagle Repair Shop. I hate tax time. Not gonna lie. I've never been good with numbers.
Thank
goodness for calculators! But handy adding devices aside, I've been chained to my desk the whole
week long moaning and groaning over spreadsheets soon required by my ever so patient and understanding accountant.
Figures
and Dollar Signs are madly spinning around in my head. I'd rather be patting a beagle. But it's part of running a charity,
isn't it? And the fact of the matter is, the very heart of the matter is that when all is said and
done (and entered!), my heart is always filled with gratitude. To the point of tears really. I
may start with the Expense Report and shiver at the calculations as I go, but when I get to the Income Report…that
shock is replaced by awe. The awe of YOU, no matter how corny that sounds. But I'm getting ahead
of myself here. The purpose of my eblast today is to share my thanks to so many, starting with my own beagles
--- including the one in the office window. Neal & the Gang have been so patient with me. Every so often, I'd
turn my head from my computer screen and say "We'll go for a Walk very soon! I promise!" They'd sigh and fall back
asleep because they know better during Tax Season. Rest assured, I did get them out for walkies this past week and I even
squeezed in an emergency trip to hospital when Seven somehow traumatized his already traumatized/decaying lower canine tooth,
spending an hour holding his paw while his veterinary team took turns applying pressure to stop the bleeding! That was one
for the history books, I tell ya. And I thought I'd seen it all. But back to the other books.
Seven is doing well, not to worry. I suppose being the new foster guy in, he felt compelled to test the extent of my love
and how better than by initiating a full blown medical emergency with lots of BLOOD. I think I've satisfied him completely.
So yes, my thanks goes out to my lovely beagles for hanging in there. Little do they know, they'll
soon be playing in the mud at Wildwood Park for our Muddy Beagle Bunny Hop Meetup on Sunday! Gotta make it
up to them somehow! I'm bringing plenty of towels! Second on the Thank You list is my rescue partner, Deanna Barkhouse,
for always being just a panicky text away when I need to solve a tax receipt mystery! Speaking of texts, Deanna and my other
rescue partner, Erica Murray, really calmed the waters for me with their emotional support messages while I was holding Seven's
paw with my other hand in hospital Thursday night. Bless you both! Next on my list is someone I
thank to myself every year. A former foster parent, an adopter of a BOB beagle, a friend in Rescue, and someone with a brain
for biz! She taught me everything I needed to know about good bookkeeping!!! I'll never forget that trip to Staples those
many years ago as she confidently threw essentials into my shopping cart, explaining along the way while I frantically took
notes. Jen Lementi, you continue to be the voice of reason in my head every year. I still use
the very same blue milk crate for holding my files! And my original COPY stamp still works! I love my COPY stamp. How long
do they last??? Anyway, I'll always be thankful to you for making this nasty bit of business a little less nasty.
That leads me to that patient accountant of mine who I'm sure is just as grateful to Jen for
teaching me about spreadsheets. We go way back, when we both worked in the second floor offices at the Toronto Humane Society
- Tim being in the Accounting Department and me being in the Fundraising Department down the fur-clad hall. And look at us
now?!! Me saving beagles for a living and Tim running his own successful accounting business and always giving me the "Rescue
rate" and a regular scolding for spending too much on vet bills. God Bless Tim! And
last but you know…NEVER least, my thanks to YOU - the reason my Income Report turned the sticker shock horror of my Expense
Report into AWE. So yeah, we spent a lot of moolah again last year, close to $70K --- veterinary costs
being the lion's share as always!!! Surprisingly enough, it wasn't as bad as the year before which was close to a staggering
$100K! I'm still shaking my head over that record breaking year. Lord knows I worry about money.
We take on tough cases. Beagles that need lots of veterinary support and we all know pet health care is costly. But I must
say that I wouldn't trade our partner veterinary clinics for the world. They do their best to keep our costs down while not
compromising on the stellar care our beagles receive year after year. They know we will spend whatever is necessary for the
well-being and long-term good health of our homeless howlers. I think that's why they are all so good to us.
But
back to YOU. We still have to pay those all important vet bills and you make that possible time and time again, whether it's
to cover initial diagnostics for a newbie, essential surgeries, ongoing care for chronic issues with our long-termers, or
(ahem) emergencies like Seven's and like (((sigh))) Algernon's back in January. I shudder to think what this year's Expense
Report is gonna look like. But we'll worry about that when we get to it. In this moment, I'm celebrating
another year of survival and in a pandemic no less. Not only surviving but THRIVING. Our beagles THRIVE because
of you. The Income Report? Over $75,000 in support!!! That's YOU!!! All YOU!!! Your donations
throughout 2021 added up to that incredible amount! And you know what THAT did? It saved some very deserving beagles. And
it continues to do that. Never forget the value of your gift to our beagles, no matter the size.
Like I always say, each dollar is like a heartbeat…no matter how corny that sounds. Marna
& the Gang at BIG ON BEAGLES (B.O.B) Rescue
The Stories that Shape Us
We're BIG on beagles. No doubt about that. But we're also pretty darn BIG on people. The people who support us through
thick and thin --- our Donors, our Veterinarians, our Foster Families, and our Adopters. As we all navigate our way through this worldwide crisis, we want
to slow the rollercoaster ride down for a moment and reflect on the Stories that shape this little Beagle Repair Shop. We
want to shine the light on folks that inspire us and remind us of just why we should keep doing what we do. We're going to start with a beautiful letter we received
just before Christmas from a Family that embraced a few precious BOB beagles over the years...if only every broken beagle
could know a Family like this... Vincent and Teddy The Story of Vincent Priceless Vincent Priceless joined our family in the spring of 2008. We
know very little of Vincent’s earliest days, except that he was born in Ohio, somehow ended up at Toronto Animal Services,
adopted out, returned after one day (because he cried through the fence to meet the neighbouring dog), deemed as ‘unadoptable’
for this, all by the age of one. Luckily for him, Big On Beagles (BOB) came to his rescue. He was lovingly fostered
by BOB angels, Guy and Leanne, and their bevy of hounds. I remember
his first visit to our home. He was small and reserved, but curious. He had big brown eyes, a bushy fox tail and
fur as soft as angora. During a trial walk, he started braying at the ground. It was at that moment we knew he was the
soulmate to our basset-beagle boy Ted (another BOB beagle formerly named Vincent). A few weeks later, Vincent moved in (complete with almond treats supplied by foster dad, Guy). He
became the classic second half of ‘the heir and the spare’, often looking to his older beagle-basset brother to
be told what to do and how to do it. The two continued to track scents together while honking loudly, oblivious to the amusement
of passersby, earning the nicknames “donkey and chicken”. We waited patiently with hope to meet the ‘real’ Vincent. His pure ‘joie de vivre’ blossomed
one day; ears flapping wildly up and down as he ran full speed chasing my daughter and her friends during a game of ultimate
frisbee. There he was! Vincent thrived and bonded with us all, but mostly
with Ted. Over the decade they were together, it was not unusual to find the two crammed into one little dog bed. You
rarely ever found one without the other. In 2017, Vincent was diagnosed with
megaesophagus. This condition disabled his ability to keep food down and enabled the regurgitated food to travel into
his lungs, causing what is known as aspiration pneumonia. Left untreated, the pneumonia is fatal. With no known
cure, the prognosis with daily feeding intervention was about one year. We prepared ourselves and set out to make the
most of the next twelve months, fully aware that his next bout of pneumonia could very well be his last. Thank goodness
Vincent loved food enough to get him into his feeding box three times a day and tolerate sitting in an upright position for
gravity to help him out. During his mandatory 30 minutes, Vincent expected and demanded quality time with his humans.
No cellphone use permitted. Less than full engagement was met with protesting howls. All was forgiven if singing, meaningful
conversations and head rubs happened. Sadly, the box was no guarantee
of a pneumonia-free existence. There was no telling how long he would go between episodes. Each time the pneumonia flattened
him, and the first twenty-four hours were always a battle. To everyone’s amazement, he somehow managed to pull
through and thrive. After countless recoveries, we started calling him the “Comeback Kid”. He
even soldiered through a broken foot and the loss of his beloved Ted due to cancer in May 2018. In the end, it was kidney
failure at the age of 14 and a half, that would be his “Waterloo”. He quietly stopped eating and let us
know it was time for him to go on October 15, 2020. Vinnie Porkchop,
we promised you we would say goodbye on your terms and be with you until your last breath. We will always love you dearly.
Living years longer than your prognosis was truly a gift that we cherished every day. You were never a burden.
You were a blessing. We will miss you dearly; your silly bark, your ability to love, your beautiful face, your soft
ears. We hope you felt the love that your humans had for you. We pray that you are with Ted, ears flopping,
noses snorting, honking away eating whatever you want. Your empty feeding
box sits in the dining room, as we are not quite ready to let it go. It reminds us of your inspiring resilience, your
never-failing determination and your strength. Your name is from the Latin word vincere, meaning to conquer.
You were more than just ‘the spare’. You were the warrior, and despite your many battles, you conquered
it all, Vincent. Until we meet again. Much love, Your furever family And when all hope had gone away On that rainy, rainy day
We said goodbye; the hardest thing
to do.
But we could have told you, Vincent,
This world was always meant
For one as beautiful
as you.
A Continuing Salute to OUR Frontline Workers... We decided to continue to dedicate our Beagle of the
Month to the ones who make the happy new beginnings for our beagles possible. Especially during this difficult time. Our veterinary
teams continue to provide the absolute best care for our beagles. Thank you, from the bottom of our beagle-loving hearts: - Beaches Animal Hospital
- Carter
Veterinary Hospital (Bowmanville)
- Dundas West Animal Hospital
- Allandale
Veterinary Hospital
- Northhumberland
Veterinary Clinic (Colborne)
- Toronto Veterinary Emergency Hospital - Scarborough
- Veterinary Emergency Clinic - Toronto
- West Brant Animal Hospital
- Blue
Cross Animal Hospital
- Gull River Veterinary Services
- Kingston Veterinary Clinic
- Nelson Animal Hospital
- Oxford
Animal Hospital
2020...it started out as the bright and hopeful beginning of a brand
new decade for this little beagle repair shop. Over 20 years rescuing beagles and we're still here. And even though 2020 took
a turn that nobody could have ever predicted, we are indeed still HERE. Because of YOU. Your continued faith and support in
our work makes it possible for us to keep saving the lives of beagles in greatest need. Senior beagles, those with serious
and chronic health issues, those in need of surgeries that are not within the budget of our animal shelters, and those suffering
from physical and emotional trauma. You make it possible. You bring the wag back to their tails. Please help us keep our doors
open as we venture towards a hopefully better 2022. There are many options to your financial support for our beagles. You can make a gift to our beagles for yourself or in honour
of a loved one for a special occasion. We'll send them a card on your behalf so they know the impact you've made
in their name. You'll be making twice the difference for that special someone AND for a rescued beagle. Or, make a difference ALL year long. Join our family of Monthly BOBefactors
by setting up a Monthly Gift for our Homeless Howlers. Your monthly gift of $10 or more really can
make a difference for our beagles in need...one heartbeat at a time. But
even if all you can do right now is cheer us on, we'll take it. You lift our spirits with every single kind word. On
behalf of our beagle babies, THANK YOU. Wishing you good health and a positive spirit throughout this historical and universal
event. *To make
a direct donation to our beagles, or to set up a Monthly Gift via Canada Helps, please use our Canada Helps Donation Form
below and thank you so very much for your support.
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Raising the funds to support our important
work is crucial but without loving foster homes, our work would be impossible to perform. Please consider joining our
family TODAY! We need MORE FOSTER PARENTS!!! Don't wait another minute! Send us YOUR Foster Application TODAY!!!
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